Entertainment Today

Waste of the Day: California Gave $94 Million Tax Credits for Two Harmful TV Series

The California Film Commission awarded $94 million in tax credits to the Netflix shows Thirteen Reasons Why and Euphoria.

Published

11 months ago

January 16, 2024

Adam Andrzejewski

Waste of the Day coins in graduated stacks

Two TV series targeting teens, “13 Reasons Why” and “Euphoria” — one of which was linked to a spike in teen suicide and the other is considered soft porn — received $94 million in California tax credits.

TV series “13 Reasons Why,” produced by Paramount, was linked to a spike in teen suicide, according to the National Institutes of Health. Seasons 1-4 of the show received $45.8 million in reserved tax credits, Adam Andrzejewski, OpenTheBooks CEO/Founder, wrote on Substack.

Waste of the Day: California Gave $94 Million Tax Credits for Two Harmful TV Series — Waste of the Day 1.16.24 by Open the Books

“Euphoria,” the pilot and seasons 1-3, produced by Warner Brothers, received $48.4 million in reserved tax credits. That series came under fire as soft porn for teens, glamorizing sex among high schoolers, violence and drug use.

California’s program through the California Film Commission hands out $330 million annually in tax credits to incentivize filmmakers to produce their projects in the state. The tax credits also became refundable last year, allowing companies to get cash back, rather than just reducing their tax liability.

Netflix told shareholders that it has more credits than it can use, and lobbied for the refund. Since July 2020, the streaming company has been allocated nearly $180 million in tax credits.

While the tax credits for “13 Reasons Why” came while Newsom was Lt. Governor, “Euphoria” received its most recent credit while Newsom was governor.

The governor and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom,have made teen mental health a top public concern, yet neither have spoken out against either harmful series.

Paramount produced “13 Reasons Why” and Netflix distributed it. Warner Bros. Discovery produced “Euphoria” and HBO (a Warner Bros company) distributed it. All the companies have executives that funded the Newsom campaigns, OpenTheBooks reported.

Paramount, its executives, and employees donated $84,773 to Newsom’s campaign between 2018 and 2022. Paramount is owned by National Amusements, a merger of CBS and Viacom and later rebranded under Paramount Global.

Warner Bros. Discovery, its executives, and employees gave the Newsom campaign $96,280. The company was formed in 2022 by a merger between WarnerMedia, which spun off from AT&T, and Discovery, Inc.

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings gave the anti-recall campaign against Gov. Newsom $3 million and company executives and Netflix employees gave Newsom’s campaign $170,000.

While supporters of the tax programs argue it helps keep jobs, private sector spending, and industry innovation in the state, critics contend the tax incentives don’t create permanent jobs or encourage new economic activity. Instead, big studios reap the economic benefits, while states offer bigger and better tax deals.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.

Adam Andrzejewski

CEO at OpenTheBooks.com | Website | + posts

Adam Andrzejewski (say: Angie-eff-ski) was the CEO/founder of OpenTheBooks.com. Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on the BBC, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, FOX News, CNN, National Public Radio (NPR), Forbes, Newsweek, and many other national media.

Today, OpenTheBooks.com is the largest private repository of U.S. public-sector spending. Mission: post "every dime, online, in real time." In 2022, OpenTheBooks.com captured nearly all public expenditures in the country, including nearly all disclosed federal government spending; 50 of 50 state checkbooks; and 25 million public employee salary and pension records from 50,000 public bodies across America.

The group's aggressive transparency and forensic auditing of government spending has led to the assembly of grand juries, indictments, and successful prosecutions; congressional briefings, hearings, and subpoenas; Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits; Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports; federal legislation; and much more.

Our Honorary Chairman - In Memoriam is U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD.

Andrzejewski's federal oversight work was included in the President's Budget To Congress FY2021. The budget cited his organization by name, bullet-pointed their findings, and footnoted/hyperlinked to their report.

Posted on YouTube, Andrzejewski's presentation, The Depth of the Swamp, at the Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar 2020 in Naples, Florida received 3.8 million views.

Andrzejewski has spoken at the Columbia School of Journalism, Harvard Law School and the law schools at Georgetown and George Washington regarding big data journalism. As a senior policy contributor at Forbes, Adam had nearly 20 million pageviews on 206 published investigations. In 2022, investigative fact-finding on Dr. Fauci's finances led to his cancellation at Forbes.

In 2022, Andrzejewski did 473 live television and radio interviews across broadcast, major cable platforms, and radio shows. Andrzejewski is the author of The Waste of the Day column at Real Clear Policy. The column is syndicated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owners of nearly 200 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates across USA.

Andrzejewski passed away in his sleep at his home in in Hinsdale, Illinois, on August 18, 2024. He is survived by his wife Kerry and three daughters. He also served as a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church and finished the Chicago Marathon eight times (PR 3:58.49 in 2022).

Waste of the Day articles published after August 18, 2024 are considered posthumous publications.